Opposite Parallels
by AnitaHoward
Summary: In which TenToo finds out that Time Lords exist in Pete's World. One shot.


_Opposite Parallels_

With Rose at work, the Doctor went off for his daily walk. He needed his exercise now that he didn't have so much excitement going on in his life. There was a nice park he knew about, full of green grass and shady trees and quiet sidewalks. Not many people went there, usually just elderly folk who liked to sit on a bench and relax.

As soon as he got there, he patted his pocket and realized that he'd left his mobile at home. It was taking some getting used to, having to carry a phone around and be accountable and all that. Oh well. Rose would understand. He did some warm ups, and then jogged all the way around the park several times. It winded him a bit more than it would have when he was full Time Lord, and he walked around a bit to get his breath back. All of a sudden, he heard a sound he thought he would never hear again: the sound of a Tardis materializing. He looked around, a thousand thoughts flooding his mind. Was it possible that the Time War hadn't happened in this universe? Could it just be a random Time Lord? Or could it be an alternate version of himself? What if it was the Master?

Then he saw it. Unbelievably, a blue phone box exactly like his own. He approached slowly. It could be anyone, really. He'd lived in this universe long enough that he knew a lot of things practically happened backwards from the way they were in his own world.

Then the door swung open and he saw … himself. Yes, definitely, his ninth self; or looking like his ninth self from his world.

"And who are you?" the other Time Lord asked.

"Hello, I'm the Doctor!" he replied, before being able to stop himself.

"Well that's funny, because I'm the Physician. And there's something about you … you're part Time Lord, aren't you?"

"Yes!"

Judging by this … Physician's face, this wasn't a big shock. "So how'd it happen this time?" he asked.

The Doctor looked a bit puzzled. "This time?"

"Yes," said the Physician. "About a year ago, human-Time Lord metacrises started happening all over the place. We don't even know how or why. Random humans who became part Time Lord. At first a lot of them died; we didn't get to them in time, and we couldn't figure out how to stabilize them. But I'm sure you already know this. So, how'd it happen?"

"Why do you want to know?" He had to sound nonchalant, had to crush the despair, the hope, the hundred thousand emotions and ideas and thoughts.

"Whenever we find a metacrisis we have to report it to the High Council. Obviously. Oh, and I'll need you to step inside for a minute to take some samples: blood, hair, that sort of thing. And answer a few questions." The Physician held the door open, and the Doctor went in cautiously. It was almost exactly like his old Tardis. But it wasn't. It didn't know him. It spoke, but not to him.

The Physician ran a scan over the Doctor and then furrowed his brow. "You appear to be Time Lord first and then you became part human. Well, that's strange. Tell me your story."

Could he? How would he start? Did he want this strange not-Doctor to know everything about him, or should he just make a run for it? But there were more Time Lords, they weren't dead, he could go back to Gallifrey for visits. No one would know who he was; he had no stigma attached to his name. He might be able to get a Tardis, perhaps they could reverse the metacrisis so that he was full Time Lord. All of this went through his head in about two seconds. Then he drew a deep breath and said,

"It's a long story. I'm from a parallel universe. I thought I, and a human, were the only metacrises to ever exist." Oh how that hurt. To know that there was a way to help Donna, to stabilize her, and there was nothing he could do. "It was a two-way metacrisis, you see. In that other universe there's another Doctor, and his hand was cut off right after his regeneration. So he grew another one. I grew from his hand when this woman ..." _Say her name, Doctor. Say her name. _"When … _Donna_ touched the hand when she was in the Tardis. She became part Time Lord, I became part human."

"Amazing," muttered the Physician. "A two-way biological metacrisis. That certainly hasn't happened before, that we're aware of. So this woman, Donna, did she die?"

"No." _Keep tone flat, hold your tears back. He doesn't know what she meant to you._ "I don't think she did. The other Doctor locked away the Time Lord part of her mind."

"Was it reported to the High Council?"

_Get away. Don't answer that question. Don't answer it._ "No. There is no High Council where I'm from. Not anymore. The Doctor … travels alone. He doesn't answer to anyone else."

The Physician smiled. "Sounds like me. But even I have to report every once in a while. Especially in a case like this. So what happened to the High Council?"

"I didn't say anything happened to them. There isn't one, that's all." _Please don't ask me anything else about it. Please don't._

"Gallifrey would never completely get rid of the Council. Society is built on it."

"What do you know?" The Doctor had had enough of this not-Doctor who was so completely different from himself. "You don't live in that parallel world, you don't have the first idea about it! Do your stupid tests and let me out of here!" His voice cracked a bit. "I'm trapped in this universe, and Donna … Donna was my best friend. My very best friend. You just brush her off; you ask if she died, as if she doesn't matter. Well, she matters to me!" There was that Donna part of him coming through. He couldn't help it. He didn't _want_ to help it.

"A human for a best friend?" The Physician looked puzzled. "Humans are considered an inferior species on Gallifrey, to be protected and studied, nothing more."

The Doctor bit down on his tongue so hard that he tasted blood. He counted to ten as slowly as he could, and then said, "Donna. Was. Not. Inferior. She saved the whole blasted world." He paused, counted to ten again. He measured his tone so that it was calm, but iron hard. "I'm not going to answer any more of your questions. No more tests. Let me out of here."

The Physician unlocked the door and the Doctor exited, then slammed it shut. He waited for the Tardis to dematerialize, and then dropped onto a bench with his head in his hands. _So unfair. So wrong. _Rose found him there an hour later, shaking with silent tears of anger and sorrow.

**A/N: This turned out a lot differently from what I was planning. It was supposed to be humorous, with the Doctor meeting two of his parallel selves (sort of like, him being there when the Tenth and Fifth Doctors met up, if that makes sense). I hope you enjoyed it, though. Drop me a review if you did!**


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